A contentious view I know, but if he'd got in a less obtrusive producer in late 69/early 70 like, for example, Joe Boyd, instead of Phil Spector, and recorded a 10-12 track LP of no more than 35 minutes duration, I think we'd now be listening to a much better record than the over-wrought and over-long 'All Thing Must Pass'.

I can't think of too many double albums that couldn't have been "better" albums by being tightened up and cutting obvious filler. I really love All Things Must Pass. But I love it because of those 11 or 12 very good to excellent tracks. The other ones I'd rarely listen to.

I suppose double albums are their own reason for being. The filler is almost the point of them. They're meant to be a large work like a painter doing a fresco rather than working on a smaller canvas. I think that worked on the White Album. The quirky songs and throwaways showed the different aspects of each of the Beatles. And was a major departure from their tightly plotted and produced albums to that date.

I'm not sure it worked as well on ATMP. When you have to repeat a song with a not overly different second version it seems pruning would be more beneficial. Still. It's sprawling approach was probably meant as a message from George. Look at all the songs I couldn't get on Beatle albums

Yep, fair enough, I can certainly see that George would want to use his first 'proper' album to get it all out there.

Actually, I'm giving 'ATMP' a spin for the first time in ages and there's no doubt that it does contain some terrific songs, but I still get the nagging feeling that they could have been more sensitively produced. It also doesn't seem to have much in the way of consistent production veering wildly from a big-band sound (not my favourite) to an acoustic one for no apparent reason. It sounds like 3 or 4 different albums at once, but then maybe that was the point!

I certainly don't like it much when it gets 'heavy' ('Wah, Wah', 'Let It Down') and during those bits it sounds quite dirge-like rather than the bright new start of 'McCartney'. I rather wish more of it was in the style of 'Apple Scruffs' (i.e. ramshackle, less produced, more spontaneous).

I'm also biased toward the acoustic style numbers. Behind that Locked Door, Run of the Mill, and I've always liked Apple Scruffs. For a chap who's vocals were undoubtedly more limited than John and Paul, he could sound pretty good with not much more than an acoustic guitar. But like lots of singers (including John) he apparently didn't like his own voice and tried to hide behind production.

nimrod

I'm also biased toward the acoustic style numbers. Behind that Locked Door, Run of the Mill, and I've always liked Apple Scruffs. For a chap who's vocals were undoubtedly more limited than John and Paul, he could sound pretty good with not much more than an acoustic guitar. But like lots of singers (including John) he apparently didn't like his own voice and tried to hide behind production.

Johns obsession with changing his voice annoys the crao out of me

His early singing is the best imo, listen to 'Slow Down' The BBC version, theres nothing better

His voice on the Spector R & R album is highly processed, nowhere near as good....way too 'studio' (as is all his Spector stuff)

I find it increasingly difficult to get past the production, or over production, on a record, and can never understand it when people say of records, normally recorded in the (truly dire) 1980s, 'Yeah, the production's very 1980s, but they're some great songs on it etc. etc.'.....Can't be, I'm afraid, the production IS the record.

I'm currently listening to an Elvis compilation of his Sun/Early RCA recordings (i.e. 1954-56); it is as good as any record production I have ever heard, and these recordings were made 60 years ago.It can't come as too much surprise that Joe Boyd swears by the striped down production of pre-war blues records, and some of them are 90 years old!

I'd take a Memphis Minnie record (circa 1930) over whatever is now No. 1 (2014) for clarity of sound every time.

His voice on the Spector R & R album is highly processed, nowhere near as good....way too 'studio' (as is all his studio stuff)

Quote from: Moogmodule

The Rock and Roll Album was a disappointment.

I've never heard this album all the way through but whenever I've heard tracks from it, like I did last night, I've never really felt like hearing the whole thing. I'd much rather hear something like "Anna". John's voice on that one about does me in!

I've always been a fan of this song! I'll repeat it several times when I'm in my truck. The instruments are all right on and Georges voice is clear. No matter what part of the song you focus on it's interesting. Horns are great!

Me too !! It's one of the iconic song of the "White Album"... everything, but not boring. Normally, I don't like horns in a song, but it sounds good in this one. Aaah, I just love it